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California Towhee

Pipilo crissalisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Sparrows (Emberizidae)
California Towhee Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Cone
  • Eye Color: Orange brown.
  • Head Pattern: Plain, Streaked
  • Crown Color: Gray-brown
  • Forehead Color: Gray-brown
  • Nape Color: Gray-brown
  • Throat Color: Buff with brown streaking.
  • Cere color: No Data
California Towhee Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 23 cm (9 in)
  • Weight: 54 g (1.9 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: Brown, Gray, Buff
  • Underparts: Buff with brown streaking and red-brown undertail coverts.
  • Upperparts: Gray-brown
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
California Towhee Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Short flights wih rapid wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 29-32 cm (11.5-12.5 in)
  • Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Rounded Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Dark Brown
  • Under Tail: Dark Brown
  • Leg Color: Pink-brown
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Family Buntings, Finches, Sparrows (Emberizidae)_blue
Species Pipilo crissalis
Length9 Inches
Wingspan12 Inches

California Towhee

California Towhee: Large sparrow, uniform brown-gray body, faintly streaked underparts, buff throat bordered with dark streaks. Tail is long with cinnamon-brown undertail coverts. Pink-brown legs and feet. Short flights with rapid beating wing strokes alternating with wings pulled briefly to sides.

● Song: "chink", "tseeee"

● Foraging & Feeding: California Towhee: Diet consists of seeds, grain, and insects. Forages in open, but usually prefers cover, quietly double-scratching on the ground under foliage, outdoor buildings, and fences.

● Breeding & nesting: California Towhee: Two to six light blue or green eggs, with brown and black markings, are laid in a cup nest built low in a bush or young tree. Eggs are incubated for approximately 11 days by the female.

● Similar species: California Towhee: Canyon Towhee has a rust-brown crown and grayer upperparts. Abert's Towhee is buff and has a black area around bill.

Flight Pattern

Short flights wih rapid wing beats.
California Towhee Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: California Towhee: Resident in coastal and foothill chaparral from Oregon to southern Baja California. Preferred habitats include shady underbrush, open woods, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and suburban gardens.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationCommon in range
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight1.9 Ounces